Proclaimed in His Name

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Proclaimed in His Name

Just before Jesus ascended  into heaven,  He gave some parting commands  to His followers.     These commands are  for all of Jesus’ followers  down through the ages.     In Luke 24:46-47  we read,

And He said  to them,  “Thus it is written,  that the Christ should suffer  and rise again  from the dead  the third day;  and that repentance  for forgiveness of sins  should be proclaimed   in His name  to all the nations,  beginning from Jerusalem.”

In the verses before this,  Jesus had explained  how everything  that was written  in the Law of Moses  and the Prophets  and the Psalms  regarding the Savior  must be fulfilled.     Because these were all fulfilled  in Jesus,  His followers were  to now begin to preach  “repentance  for forgiveness  of sins“.

In other words,  the fulfillment  of all the Old Testament prophecies  about a Savior  is a sure sign  that everyone needs  to start paying attention  to the workings  of the LORD  and repent  of all their sins.

All these fulfilled  Old Testament prophecies  are supposed to open our eyes  to the fact  that Jesus is  who He says He is  —  that God is almighty  in fulfilling His word  —  and that God’s promised Judgment Day  is also  on its way  —  so that  if we want to reach  our heavenly home,  we really do need  to repent  of our sins  in faith  that Jesus will forgive.

To repent is  to confess our sinful ways  and stop them  for a number of reasons.     A few reasons could include:   1. God has proven His love  and desire  to forgive our sins.      2. Our sins lead  to nothing but misery,  enslavement,  and eternal hell.      3. Our sins hurt us  and everyone around us.     4. The life of forgiveness,  faith,  hope,  and love  that Jesus wants us  to lead  frees us  from our bondage  to sin.     5. Faith in Jesus is  the only way  we will obtain  eternal life.     6. With repentance  and faith,  we will finally be living  in truth,  which is the only worthwhile way  to live.     7. Living according to lies is  a senseless  and unprofitable way  to try and live.

This list of reasons  could be much longer.     The point is  that unrepented sin leads  to eternal misery,  and truly repented sin  changes our lives  and leads  to eternal life.

So many today  only want  to talk about Jesus forgiving all  of our sins.     But,  they skip over our need  for repentance.     Jesus emphasized  that “repentance  for forgiveness  of sins  should be proclaimed  in His name”.     Jesus does not want us  to mistakenly think  that we can live  however we please,  and think  that Jesus will just automatically  forgive everyone’s sins.

We need  to first see the ugliness  of our sins  and how they surely are  destroying us.     If we don’t admit our sins  and repent,  there will not be forgiveness.

The apostles Peter and John  put it in many different ways  in their epistles.     A few examples include:

2 Peter 3:9     The Lord is not slow  about His promise,  as some count slowness,  but is patient  toward you,  not wishing for any  to perish  but for all  to come  to repentance.

1 John 3:7-9     Little children,  let no one deceive you;  the one who practices righteousness  is righteous,  just as He i s righteous;  the one who practices sin is  of the devil;  for the devil has sinned  from the beginning.     The Son of God appeared  for this purpose,  that He might destroy  the works  of the devil.     No one who is born  of God  practices sin,  because His seed abides  in him;  and he cannot sin,  because he is born  of God.

1 John 5:1-2     Whoever believes  that Jesus is the Christ  is born  of God;  and whoever loves the Father  loves the child  born of Him.     By this we know  that we love  the children of God,  when we love God  and observe His commandments.

As we think about the depths  of God’s love  for us  in Jesus Christ,  let us always have repentant hearts  and remember  that God is looking  for changed hearts.     Then we will say,  “Hallelujah!     Our Savior is so ready  to forgive all our sins.”

Love,
Margaret

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A Christian devotional  to glorify  the LORD of lords  and GOD of gods.

Pray for our country.

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The LORD  made this day, let us rejoice  and be glad  in Him.

Psalm 118:24

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The word of the LORD is tried;

He is a shield  to all  who take refuge  in Him.

Psalm 18:30

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Sing for joy  in the LORD,  O you righteous ones;

Praise is becoming  to the upright.

Psalm 33:1

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How blessed are those  who dwell  in Thy house!

They are ever praising Thee.

Psalm 84:4

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Just as a father  has compassion  on his children,

So the LORD  has compassion  on those who fear Him.

Psalm 103:13

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O give thanks  to the LORD,  for He is good;

For His lovingkindness  is everlasting.

Psalm 107:1

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Glory in His holy name;

Let the heart  of those who seek the LORD  be glad.

Psalm 105:3

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Not that I have already obtained it,  or have already  become perfect,   but I press on  in order that  I may  lay hold  of that  for which also  I was laid hold of  by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12

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